Innocent Swim
by StBu
Summary: just a percabeth oneshot to get me back in the PJO mindset - im not sure the charaacters are completely right but i think its cute anyway :


Okay: heres a oneshot for all you percabeth shippers

Okay: heres a oneshot for all you percabeth shippers. Enjoy.

Annabeth threw her pencil down in frustration; it bounced of the wall in front of the desk and rolled to a stop over her half-completed sketch. She was trying to design a building that was environmentally sustainable enough to gain 'platinum' status in the U.S. Green Building Councils LEED rating system. Unfortunately she didn't seem to be able to get her head into the right frame of mind for architecture.

She just couldn't seem to get a certain pair of sea green eyes out of head.

_Stupid Seaweed Brain_, Annabeth mentally cursed him. What gave him the right to make her, Annabeth Chase, daughter of Athena the Goddess of Wisdom, feel so confused? She groaned and massaged the bridge of her nose. If her mother found out what she was thinking right now…

Annabeth's mind drifted off into that world were she could just be around Percy, with no monsters or titans or immortal parents or (worst of all) other girls interrupting them. They would fly into the ocean sunset on Blackjack, Percy's arms wrapped protectively around Annabeth's waist (though of coarse she didn't need his protection – what a ridiculous idea) as she leaned back into his warmth. They would bicker, as usual, but both would know that it was just a smokescreen, a way for them to show their feelings without showing their feelings. She could angle her head back and get lost in those deep blue eyes, and let her lips brush his softly like she had imagined so many times…

"What's with the dreamy smile, Annabeth? Thinking about someone special?" The voice from behind her made her jump. She spun around and found her half-sister Jenna smirking at her from her neatly made bunk. _Shit_.

Annabeth quickly arranged her features into her most haughty stare and rolled her eyes at the slightly older girl, but it was too late to stop the red tinge from creeping out onto her cheeks. Jenna's grin widened and she tapped the side of her nose knowingly, but she didn't say anything more, to Annabeth's relief.

_Argh_! Annabeth kicked herself mentally. And when that didn't work, she pinched her arm – hard. _There I go again! This is Percy I'm thinking about! Seaweed Brain! By the God's, he's a Son of Poseidon! I need to get out more…_

With that thought in mind she jumped up from her desk and grabbed her knife from under her bunk. A good workout is definitely what she needed; it couldn't fail… maybe… hopefully… _sigh, at least it'll get me away from my overly perceptive siblings. _

Walking out into the perpetually sunny camp Annabeth made her way towards the usual training arena, but changed her mind when she realised it was early afternoon and the place would be packed with campers. She veered off towards the lake instead, figuring she could practice some footwork drills easily enough without the aid of battle manikins. As she strolled through the fertile grounds she concentrated on keeping her thoughts out of the Percy Jackson area; she absently replied to the different campers who called greetings to her along the way.

_Hydrogen, Helium, Lithium, Beryllium…_ Annabeth chanted in her head, timing each element with each step she took. She had just reached _oxygen_ for the third time when she suddenly became aware of two things: firstly, that she had reached the lake, and secondly, that none other than Percy Jackson was grinning at her from where he stood not three meters away at the lakes edge. His skin was flushed with exercise and a shiny layer of sweat covered his tanned face and arms. He held his sword loosely in one hand. Obviously he had followed the same thought processes as she had – _well_, Annabeth thought cheekily,_ there's a first time for everything._

"Hey, Wise Girl," Percy shot at her. "Going for a romantic stroll around the lake - with yourself?" His eyes danced at her while he absently raked his free hand through his dark hair. Annabeth had to mentally force herself to stop thinking about tousling those locks up herself, just the way she liked them, before she answered him. The fact that Percy's shirt was currently laying crumpled on the ground with his drink bottle didn't help matters.

"Playing with all your friends, Seaweed Brain?" Annabeth crossed her arms and tilted her chin up at him mockingly.

"Well, since you're here… feel like getting your ass kicked?"

"In your dreams, Kelp Head." Fighting Percy wouldn't help get him out of her head. "Actually, I was planning on going for a swim." _Where did that come from_? Annabeth sent silent thanks to whichever God nudged her into putting her swimmers on under her clothes that morning.

Percy's eyebrows rose in surprise – Annabeth wasn't exactly the biggest fan of water, and since it was only mid-spring the water temperature hadn't warmed enough to be classed as 'inviting'. His face went blank for a moment, and then he started fiddling with the hilt of Riptide. "Um… well, I've been out here for a while… I could use a swim – unless you wanted some quiet?" He looked back up at her, and Annabeth was struck by the strange look in his ocean eyes, but she couldn't quite place it.

Annabeth yanked herself out of the swirls of blue and green and walked past him towards the wharf, acting nonchalant. "Whatever floats your boat."

When she reached the wharfs end she hesitated uncomfortably, but decided to forge ahead with her white lie. Pulling off her shorts and orange Camp Half-Blood t-shirt (which left her in a white bikini) and folding them in a neat pile on the planking, she turned around to find Percy standing there in his board shorts looking at her oddly. She felt the heat rise in her face. _Damn him._

"What?" she challenged. Percy smiled. The next thing Annabeth knew, a wall of water hit her from behind. She squealed and hugged herself as the cool air hit her wet skin, making her shiver. "You idiot!" she screamed at Percy, who was now grinning madly at her. "Now my clothes are wet!" But when she glanced down she found them sitting in a perfectly dry circle of wharf, not a drop on them.

"Lucky break," Percy smirked.

Annabeth saw red. She didn't remember deciding to run screaming at her friend and tackle him into the lake, but she concluded that that must have been what happened as they hit the cool water with arms and legs flailing. They kept grappling underwater but unfortunately for our favorite smarty pants, Percy had the unfair advantage of being the Son of Poseidon. He quickly had her immobilized in a complicated arm bar she hadn't seen before, which would have been bad enough without it being at least two meters below the lakes rippling surface.

But Percy wasn't finished having fun yet. Annabeth found herself breathing in surprise from an air bubble that had formed around their heads.

"Say it," he laughed at her, his voice sounding both echoed and muffled inside the bubble. Annabeth scowled at him fiercely; she would stay down here until her skin was as wrinkly as a Kindly One's before she would say what he wanted to hear. She shook her head stubbornly – brains over brawn. She would outsmart him.

Percy just laughed and tightened his grip on her wrists slightly. Wrists that, it suddenly dawned on Annabeth, were twisted behind her back, forcing Percy to wrap his arms around her torso. His face was just inches from her own.

_Why is it suddenly so hot in this damn bubble_, Annabeth thought, her scowl slipping from her face to be replaced by what she hoped was a neutral expression.

The wonder and privacy of this underwater world, the heat radiating from Percy's skin, the adrenalin still lingering in her veins; screw it, Annabeth thought, an allowed the moment to overtake her. She did something that was unheard of in a child of Athena; she stopped thinking. Stopped thinking and just let herself drift in and out of the eddy's of color and emotion that were Percy's eyes. Her body relaxed against his, no longer tensed for a fight. A wave of calm washed over her, calm that she never experienced when around Percy these days. It was as if her life had collided with one of her daydreams.

Annabeth watched his expression run through a series of stages; insolent triumph, sudden realization, awkward embarrassment, and, finally, something else altogether. His grip loosened and then lifted altogether from her wrists, allowing them to float to her sides. But he didn't let her drift away. Instead, Annabeth registered his cautious expression as his hands alighted ever so lightly on her waist. He hesitated, gazing at her expectantly as if waiting for a socking.

The feeling of Percy's hands on her like this anchored her like a kite, somewhere between the sky of her daydreams and the ground of her reality. With some of her normal brain function restored, Annabeth found herself curling her hands around his and pausing there while she decided what to do.

If she rejected him, pushed him away and swam to the surface, their friendship, which she had always been able to rely on, would probably become painfully awkward. He might resent her, she might end up resenting him. And she would be lying to him by acting like she didn't have these feelings for him. But at least she wouldn't be exposed, vulnerable to heartache again…

If she did what her heart was telling her to do, who knew what would happen? It might scar their friendship anyway if it was just hormones. And if it wasn't, their Olympian parents may just end up killing them, or even each other, not to mention the crap they would cop from the other half-bloods and their mortal parents…

_What are you thinking, girl? The guy you've been falling for for years is standing (er, floating) with his arms around you, and what are you doing? Worrying about Clarisse coming up with some stupid song about you and Percy?! He wont stand (er, float) there forever!!_

Percy's expression was becoming more anxious by the second. Annabeth gathered her resolution; she decided to put him out of his misery. Resting one hand on his forearm, she slid the other up his arm and around his neck, pulling their bodies closer until her nose gently brushed his. She paused, looking at the dazed disbelief in his eyes. Her lips curved into a playful half-smile.

"You win," Annabeth murmured, before tilting her head slightly to graze her lips against his.

Percy sat on the wharfs edge, trailing his feet through the water. He was acutely aware of Annabeth sitting next to him, their hands just touching as they each allowed the other time to digest. Well, that was what Percy assumed Annabeth was doing, anyway. _He_ was instead focusing the majority of his energy towards keeping the silly grin off his face so he wouldn't look like a totally smitten idiot.

_I can't believe that just happened_, Percy thought, still in astonishment. He had been expecting a slap, maybe even a few broken fingers or a broken nose, when his ADHD-ridden impulsive brain has instructed his hands as to their coordinates. For a moment there he had been sure that he was wrong about the way Annabeth had been looking at him…

But that kiss… Percy couldn't wait until he could touch Annabeth like that again, maybe be more adventurous too… he shivered in anticipation.

That is if Annabeth didn't decide it was all a stupid mistake.

Percy turned to look at Annabeth's face as she gazed into the depths. She was almost unreadable, except for the random flashes of emotion that crossed her face every now and then. The apprehension was killing him.

"Annabeth?" She kept staring down for almost a minute before her head turned to look at him. Unreadable.

"Um… what happens now?" It was like Annabeth's eyes slowly cleared, like she was coming out of a trance. Her smile was soft and shy and the most wonderful thing Percy had ever seen in his life. She skirted closer to him and ducked under his arm, letting her own arm slide around his waist. Then she pecked him on the cheek lightly and went straight back to staring out into the lake, this time with her lips curved into a grin.

Percy exhaled the breath he had been holding and let his fingers brush Annabeth's shoulder tenderly, reveling in the feeling. He followed her gaze out into the lake, over which the sun was beginning to lower itself.

After a while Percy felt Annabeth stir next to him.

"Do you want to go for a ride on Blackjack?"

The end – a cute oneshot but im really just writing it to get back into the PJO mindframe. For those of you reading my other sadly neglected story, im sorry and you will hav more chappys soon 

Happy reading, StBu


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